Manchester Originals vs Welsh Fire Prediction: Manchester were runners-up in the last season

Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire are going head to head in Match 3 of The Hundred Men at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom on 25th July 2024. Manchester were runners-up in the last season in the tournament. Who will win this game of cricket?

Manchester Originals went as far as the final of the 2023 Men's Hundred, ultimately falling to Oval Invincibles. That was almost a year ago and they now have their first chance to atone for that defeat. Jos Buttler was the leading run-scorer in the tournament last year and carried that good form into the 2024 Indian Premier League and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Phil Salt, who will open the batting with Buttler, recently wreaked havoc on West Indian bowlers in white-ball matches in December. Manchester Originals have a strong bowling attack that is more geared towards taking wickets than stopping runs.

Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Wayne Madsen, Max Holden, Paul Walter, Sikandar Raza, Jamie Overton, Tom Hartley, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mitchell Stanley, Sonny Baker

The Welsh Fire had been the laughing stock of the English cricket fraternity through the first two editions of the Men's Hundred. In 2023, though they finally managed to get some much-needed wins under their belt. They never made it into that top three, but did end the tournament on a high note with back-to-back wins. This has a very talented core of bowlers and batters, all of whom have lots of experience in the short-form game and are replete with success to boot. Of course, the key players will be Jonny Bairstosh and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. David Willey will contribute immensely with both the ball and bat. David Payne and Jake Ball, with their pace in the pitch, will be scintillating.

Jonny Bairstow(c), Tom Kohler-Cadmore(wk), Joe Clarke, Stephen Eskinazi, Glenn Phillips, David Willey, Ben Green, Roelof van der Merwe, David Payne, Jake Ball, Mason Crane

Both of the contending teams are solid teams seeking a place in the knockout rounds of this tournament, with extremely talented squads that, frankly, really not lacking in any department, be it batting or bowling. We do have a slight preference for the home team in this game, more so considering England's international white-ball openers lined up to make their mark on this game. We go for Manchester Originals to take this one home!